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ACTU – “Why?”

Australia’s largest business voice, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, asks a simple question about the ACTU’s plan to expose Australia to rolling, industry-wide strikes – “Why?”

“Claims of stagnant wages and job insecurity simply don’t reflect the facts. There is only one explanation for the ACTU’s grievances – they are struggling to be relevant,” Australian Chamber CEO, James Pearson, said today.

“The reality is the key driver of wages growth is increased productivity, and the Australian experience is that employees and employers understand the best way to achieve this is by working together.

“With only 9% of Australian private sector employees choosing to join a union (38% of the public service are members), the union business model doesn’t stack up.

“The union movement wants there to be conflict in the workplace because they believe it will help them to recruit members – regardless of whether that conflict is warranted.

“Australia by nature is an optimistic and united country and our economy is developing rapidly as businesses work hard to stay competitive in a changing world.

“It is time for unions to adapt, as businesses have, not to revert back to the tired old tactics of yesteryear.”

“It’s time for the ACTU to put aside the politics of division, doom and gloom and acknowledge the facts,” Mr Pearson said:

THE FACTS

Just 1.9% of Australian employees are paid the National Minimum Wage. (Source: ABS 2017, Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2016, cat. no. 6306.0, published and unpublished data [including Department of Jobs and Small Business calculations] from Australian Government Submission to the Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review 2018, 13 March 2018, Chart 2.1.)

Small businesses account for over a third of minimum award wage employment. (Source: ABS 2017, Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2016, cat. no. 6306.0, from Australian Government Submission to the Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review 2018, 13 March 2018, p. 43)